In the months leading up to the year 2020, there was no shortage of social media posts, articles, sermons, and more talking about a “2020 Vision.” For many pastors, it was a dream topic to build a sermon series around – and many did.
A sampling of sermon topics in January 2020 would have shown an intentional look forward into a future of a year or two, or maybe even five years or more.
But when March 2020 rolled around, and the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic began to sink in, the lofty visions of 2020 evaporated. Church leaders around the country and the world began to shrink their vision from the lofty goals of just a few months earlier to, “What are we going to do this weekend?”
Fifteen months later, though that immediacy has lessened somewhat, only to be replaced with even more troubling questions like these:
- How long is this pandemic going to last?
- Will we be able to return to normal?
- What if normal never returns?
In just a few weeks, future thoughts became present realties, and many leaders find themselves stuck there today.
Even when treading water in reality, leaders can get mired in a flood of information and answers about what to do next.
The world around us is evolving at dizzying speed. Tomorrow refuses to cooperate with our best-laid plans—the future routinely pulls the rug from underneath us.
Although people yearn for a return to “normal,” or try to predict the “new normal,” there is no such thing as normal. There is only change. Never-ending, constant change. Sometimes slow, sometimes fast, but constant nonetheless.
Answers to vexing problems are no longer a scarce commodity, and knowledge has never been cheaper. By the time we’ve figured out the facts – by the time Google, Alexa, or Siri can spit out the answer – the world has moved on.
Obviously, answers aren’t irrelevant. You must know some answers before you can begin asking the right questions. But the answers simply serve as a launch pad to discovery. They’re the beginning, not the end.
THE QUICK SUMMARY – Daring Greatly by Brené Brown
Every day we experience the uncertainty, risks, and emotional exposure that define what it means to be vulnerable or to dare greatly. Based on twelve years of pioneering research, Brené Brown PhD, LMSW, dispels the cultural myth that vulnerability is weakness and argues that it is, in truth, our most accurate measure of courage.
Brown explains how vulnerability is both the core of difficult emotions like fear, grief, and disappointment, and the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, empathy, innovation, and creativity. She writes: “When we shut ourselves off from vulnerability, we distance ourselves from the experiences that bring purpose and meaning to our lives.”
Daring Greatly is not about winning or losing. It’s about courage. In a world where “never enough” dominates and feeling afraid has become second nature, vulnerability is subversive. Uncomfortable. It’s even a little dangerous at times. And, without question, putting ourselves out there means there’s a far greater risk of getting criticized or feeling hurt. But when we step back and examine our lives, we will find that nothing is as uncomfortable, dangerous, and hurtful as standing on the outside of our lives looking in and wondering what it would be like if we had the courage to step into the arena—whether it’s a new relationship, an important meeting, the creative process, or a difficult family conversation. Daring Greatly is a practice and a powerful new vision for letting ourselves be seen.
A SIMPLE SOLUTION
Leaders find vulnerability often looks and feels like discomfort.
Addressing this topic, Seth Godin writes:
Leadership is scarce because so few people are willing to go through the discomfort required to lead. It’s uncomfortable to stand up in front of strangers. It’s uncomfortable to propose an idea that might fail. It’s uncomfortable to challenge the status quo. If you’re not uncomfortable in your work as a leader, it’s almost certain you’re not reaching your potential as a leader.
According to author Brené Brown, in a world where scarcity and shame dominate and feeling afraid has become second nature, vulnerability is subversive. And, without question, putting ourselves out there means there’s a far greater risk of feeling hurt.
Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage.
Brené Brown
The Daring Greatly Leadership Manifesto
To the CEOs and the teachers. To the principals and the managers. To the politicians, community leaders, and decision makers:
We want to show up, we want tolerant and we want to inspire.
We are hardwired for connection, curiosity, and engagement.
We crave purpose, and we have a deep desire to contribute and create.
We want to take risks, embrace our vulnerabilities, and be courageous.
When learning and working are dehumanized – when you no longer see us and no longer encourage our daring, or when you only see what we produce or how we perform – we disengage and turn away form the very things that the world needs from us: our talent, our ideas, and our passion.
What we ask is that you engage with us, show up beside us, and learn from us.
Feedback is a function of respect; when you don’t have honest conversations with us about our strengths and our opportunities for growth, we question our contributions and your commitment.
Above all else, we ask that you show up, let yourself be seen, and be courageous. Dare Greatly with us.
Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
A NEXT STEP
To visually summarize and simplify the most important insights about “courage” found in Brené Brown’s “Leadership Manifesto” above, gather your team and conduct the following exercise.
- Select the three to five most important insights about courage found in the Manifesto.
- Imagine you have to communicate these insights in the form of a billboard.
- Define the tagline, the call-to-action, and the image (a photo, illustration, or drawing) that communicate the essence of those insights.
- Think about appropriate colors and compositions.
- Choose the best technique to execute this (digital tools, drawing by hand, collage, etc.).
- Place the billboard where everybody can see it before and during a future idea-generating session.
This single visual recreation of “courage” will help you focus on generating solutions or new ideas.
The above exercise was adapted from 75 Tools for Creative Thinking, Booreiland
Part of a regular series on 27gen, entitled Wednesday Weekly Reader
During my elementary school years one of the things I looked forward to the most was the delivery of “My Weekly Reader,” a weekly educational magazine designed for children and containing news-based, current events.
It became a regular part of my love for reading, and helped develop my curiosity about the world around us.
Along with early and ongoing encouragement from my parents – especially my father – reading was established as a passion in my life that I was happy to continually learn from, share with my children, and watch them share with their children.
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